🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer heard a supermarket was launching a new beauty line that looked akin to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper rushed to her closest outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml item.

The smooth blue packaging and gold cap of the two products look noticeably similar. While she has not tested the premium cream, she states she's impressed by the product so far.

She has been purchasing skincare dupes from popular shops and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a 25% of UK buyers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to 44% among younger adults, based on a recent study.

Alternatives are skincare products that copy bigger name companies and offer affordable substitutes to premium products. These products typically have similar names and packaging, but sometimes the components can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare professionals say some dupes to premium labels are decent standard and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion higher-priced is necessarily more effective," says dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget product line is bad - and not every luxury beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely amazing," notes a skincare commentator, who presents a show with public figures.

Many of the products based on high-end brands "sell out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor thinks alternatives are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will be effective," he explains. "These items will handle the essentials to a reasonable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can save money when you're looking for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a dupe or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's not much that can be problematic," she adds.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Container'

Yet the specialists also advise consumers check details and note that higher-priced items are at times worth the extra money.

With luxury skincare, you're not only paying for the name and promotion - sometimes the elevated price tag also stems from the components and their standard, the strength of the key component, the science used to develop the product, and trials into the products' performance, the expert says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's valuable questioning how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

In some cases, she believes they might contain bulking agents that don't have as significant positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"One major doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Podcast host Scott notes in some cases he's purchased beauty products that look comparable to a established brand but the item has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Don't be sold by the container," he cautioned.

SimpleImages/Getty Images

Regarding potent products or ones with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she recommends using more specialised companies.

She states these probably have been through comprehensive tests to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty products are required to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the brand advertises about the performance of the item, it needs data to back it up, "but the brand doesn't necessarily have to do the trials" and can alternatively use studies completed by different firms, she adds.

Examine the Back of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could suggest a item is inferior?

Ingredients on the list of the tube are arranged by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you should avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up